Improving VA Medical Centers

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, President Obama announced his plans to withdraw our troops from Afghanistan. As we prepare to welcome these men and women home, we must ensure that the VA medical centers are well-equipped to meet the needs of these returning heroes, in addition to those who are currently receiving care.

Like all of my colleagues here, I am outraged by the deaths and medical errors at VA medical centers around the country, including those in Memphis. As soon as the VA inspector general issued a report about preventable deaths at the Memphis VA, I wrote Secretary Shinseki expressing my concerns about the Memphis facility. I invited him to visit the center to assess what resources it needs to improve care for the nearly 200,000 veterans served by that facility.

I have been in close communication with the director at the Memphis medical center to discuss quality of care improvements for our veterans. I am committed to making sure that our VA medical centers have the resources that they need to deliver quality care to our Nation's veterans.

This is a serious matter, and it will become more critical as more heroes return home. I look forward to working with my colleagues on this issue.

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